MG4 Trophy Speaker Upgrade

[Alansurfer]

I have posted this with the thread already up re speakers but put it here as well.

Upgraded the front and rear speakers with Vibe Slick6-V7 6.5 component fronts and coaxial rears. I used the original speaker mounts modified to fit the new ones, you can use aftermarket spacers they need to be 34mm deep. The tweeters need the crossover to work properly. The tweeters made a big difference to vocals, horns and percussion lifting the highs to a much better place. Just replacing these is a big improvement.


There have been reports that the rears only get a low pass feed but I haven't found that after some frequency testing, they are getting the full range.


The mid and bass is much better with good low end control and nice bass note definition.


I chose the Vibe speakers as they are easy for the stock head-unit to drive and will be ok for a future amp upgrade also.


The sound deadening is important and makes a big difference pulling the sound together cleanly. It doesn't need to be foil backed as I've used, I already had a roll of foil backed left over from insulating my sail boat (which I converted to electric drive!).


The wiring colours I suggest here are what my car has but should be the same so please double check with a volt metre for the + and - terminals to be sure.


The amp/head-unit is behind the glovebox and you can gain access to it by removing the glovebox, this is not needed for this upgrade, but may be useful if you want to add an amplifier so you can use the existing speaker wires.





Vibe Speakers

SLICK6C-V7: Slick 6 Inch Component Speaker - Vibe

6 Inch Component Speaker

vibeaudio.co.uk

SLICK6-V7: Slick 6 Inch Coaxial Speaker - Vibe

6 Inch Coaxial Speaker

vibeaudio.co.uk

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[RN88R]

Thanks for sharing!!

 

[jebimasta]

Any tips on how to do the hard part, not mentioned above, the part where you convince your significant other it's a good idea?

 

[tsedge]

Any tips on how to do the hard part, not mentioned above, the part where you convince your significant other it's a good idea?

It will:

• make the car quieter, particularly at speed
• make listening to their favourite music much better
• personalise the car to truly reflect you both

 

[Alansurfer]

Any tips on how to do the hard part, not mentioned above, the part where you convince your significant other it's a good ide

Maybe ask them to put half of their shoe/clothes collection on eBay to help fund a hobby that benefits both of you

 

[drivethru]

Great video, really interesting to see the door panel being removed and how the bare door looks.

Just thinking out loud - the door void / cavity looks quite big. Would filling it with mineral wool help with general insulation? (Which may in turn require less cabin heating over time?)

 

[Ian Key]

Great video, really interesting to see the door panel being removed and how the bare door looks.

Just thinking out loud - the door void / cavity looks quite big. Would filling it with mineral wool help with general insulation? (Which may in turn require less cabin heating over time?)

The cavity won't be as big with the window down and you don't want the insulation trapping moisture.

 

[Alansurfer]

Great video, really interesting to see the door panel being removed and how the bare door looks.

Just thinking out loud - the door void / cavity looks quite big. Would filling it with mineral wool help with general insulation? (Which may in turn require less cabin heating over time?)

As above reply it’s not a good idea to use mineral wool as it gets damp from condensation in the door void. Use closed cell foam as it’s thin so won’t interfere with the window mechanism and won’t soak up moisture. It’s also better for sound dampening

 

[drivethru]

As above reply it’s not a good idea to use mineral wool as it gets damp from condensation in the door void. Use closed cell foam as it’s thin so won’t interfere with the window mechanism and won’t soak up moisture. It’s also better for sound dampening

Wouldn’t insulation prevent condensation as the dew point is being pushed outside?

Regarding the windows, so are these door panel voids drained somehow to release any water ingress from the windows going up and down on wet days?

 

[Alansurfer]

Wouldn’t insulation prevent condensation as the dew point is being pushed outside?

Regarding the windows, so are these door panel voids drained somehow to release any water ingress from the windows going up and down on wet days?

Yes but in a car water creeps in from the windows and there are drain holes at the base of the door and the door card. The wool type will also be too thick and move around getting in the way of the door window mechanism and won’t help much with sound dampening. I use the closed cell foam (neoprene) on my sailboat and it reduces the condensation buildup over winter and always use it as a base layer in camper van builds. Thermally it’s similar to much thicker rock wool too, will help reduce vibration and insulate, the biggest advantage though is it really improves the sound a lot.

 

[thrills]

Thanks for the info @Alansurfer! On your recommendation I went and bought the same speakers from Amazon (they’re cheaper there than directly with Vibe, even with the 15% store wide discount). So far I’ve modified the tweeters and installed them, going to wait for better weather to pull apart the doors.

TDLR: The tweeters make all the difference in the world! The sound stage is amazing now, vocals and hi-hats are sharp and crisp and the stereo field is VASTLY improved! If you could do one thing to improve the audio in the MG4 it would be the tweeters that’s for sure!!!

I ripped apart the old tweeter and epoxied in the Vibe ones to the original driver holder, I also removed the housing of the Vibe cross over and stuck the PCB directly to the back of the tweeter. I also re-soldered all the cables on the back of the tweeter to get rid of the excess, removed the woofer cable completely and soldered the original connector back to them after removing the excess plastic from the original tweeter connector. It all makes for a tidy install and no hacking of the cars loom what so ever.

Really looking forward to completing the process and also the dynamat as I’m sure that’s going to make another huge difference too.

 

[Alansurfer]

Thanks for the info @Alansurfer! On your recommendation I went and bought the same speakers from Amazon (they’re cheaper there than directly with Vibe, even with the 15% store wide discount). So far I’ve modified the tweeters and installed them, going to wait for better weather to pull apart the doors.

TDLR: The tweeters make all the difference in the world! The sound stage is amazing now, vocals and hi-hats are sharp and crisp and the stereo field is VASTLY improved! If you could do one thing to improve the audio in the MG4 it would be the tweeters that’s for sure!!!

I ripped apart the old tweeter and epoxied in the Vibe ones to the original driver holder, I also removed the housing of the Vibe cross over and stuck the PCB directly to the back of the tweeter. I also re-soldered all the cables on the back of the tweeter to get rid of the excess, removed the woofer cable completely and soldered the original connector back to them after removing the excess plastic from the original tweeter connector. It all makes for a tidy install and no hacking of the cars loom what so ever.

Really looking forward to completing the process and also the dynamat as I’m sure that’s going to make another huge difference too.

Glad it was helpful . Yeah the tweeter upgrade is a really big improvement, vocals and percussion (especially in jazz and classical) are up to a different level even at low volumes. The sound damping is well worth it too as vastly improves the low and mids keeping notes tight and accurate. Mine has bedded in well now, the bass on dub reggae and the highs with percussion are very nice now. I have adjusted the equaliser and switched of the virtual subwoofer which suits the mid/bass drivers better.

 

[inshreds]

Thanks for the info @Alansurfer! On your recommendation I went and bought the same speakers from Amazon (they’re cheaper there than directly with Vibe, even with the 15% store wide discount). So far I’ve modified the tweeters and installed them, going to wait for better weather to pull apart the doors.

TDLR: The tweeters make all the difference in the world! The sound stage is amazing now, vocals and hi-hats are sharp and crisp and the stereo field is VASTLY improved! If you could do one thing to improve the audio in the MG4 it would be the tweeters that’s for sure!!!

I ripped apart the old tweeter and epoxied in the Vibe ones to the original driver holder, I also removed the housing of the Vibe cross over and stuck the PCB directly to the back of the tweeter. I also re-soldered all the cables on the back of the tweeter to get rid of the excess, removed the woofer cable completely and soldered the original connector back to them after removing the excess plastic from the original tweeter connector. It all makes for a tidy install and no hacking of the cars loom what so ever.

Really looking forward to completing the process and also the dynamat as I’m sure that’s going to make another huge difference too.

I like your idea for utilising the original connector and soldering on the crossover. I have just bought the same speakers for my wife's MG4....did you also remove the housing from the actual tweeter itself alongside the crossover or does the tweeter fit in the original driver holding with the housing intact?

 

[thrills]

I like your idea for utilising the original connector and soldering on the crossover. I have just bought the same speakers for my wife's MG4....did you also remove the housing from the actual tweeter itself alongside the crossover or does the tweeter fit in the original driver holding with the housing intact?

It does fit nicely as both the old and new drivers are pretty much the same size. However the clips that hold the old drive in are not the same so to secure the new tweeter I’d recommend epoxy resin on the sides. I wouldn’t recommend hot glue as the dash, in summer, would easily get hot enough to melt it.
I secured the crossover to the back of the tweeter using the circular doubled sided foam pad the speakers came with but in hindsight I’d desolder the cap from it and glue that directly to the back then used the rest of the crossover in the door. The woofer works fine without it but, to me, it would make more sense (now) to use the woofer component of the crossover with the woofer.
Hope that helps!

 

[inshreds]

Night and day difference in sound separation on tweeter change alone.

 

[okohll]

Night and day difference in sound separation on tweeter change alone.

Yes, as everyone else has said it's a big difference, the audio is actually a pleasure to listen to now. A wider range of frequencies come through more evenly. With the old ones certain high notes would appear with a painfully sharp and horrible tone if turned up high enough to hear things on the motorway.

I haven't been successful in getting the door panels off, when a plastic washer pinged out but the panel was just as firmly attached I took that as my cue to leave it. So it could do with a bit more in the lower frequencies but for now I'm happy. At some point I might take it to the garage for them to do.

Thanks for the video Alansurfer.

 

[inshreds]

Yes, as everyone else has said it's a big difference, the audio is actually a pleasure to listen to now. A wider range of frequencies come through more evenly. With the old ones certain high notes would appear with a painfully sharp and horrible tone if turned up high enough to hear things on the motorway.

I haven't been successful in getting the door panels off, when a plastic washer pinged out but the panel was just as firmly attached I took that as my cue to leave it. So it could do with a bit more in the lower frequencies but for now I'm happy. At some point I might take it to the garage for them to do.

Thanks for the video Alansurfer.

If it is something you haven't done before (door panel removal) I have to say it is quite daunting the first time. I have changed speakers in our last three cars so used to it now, although from stock it is always difficult removing the panel the first time.

Two things to note though...don't worry about broken door trim panel clips, they are very cheap and easily replaceable, and bear in mind that the door panel ABS plastic is extremely strong.

Once you have a couple of panel clips out and can get enough purchase with a trim removal tool behind to slide up against and pop out further panel clips it does get easier.

I found replacing the terrible stock speakers with the vibe slick 6c in the front with some sound deadening has improved the sonics further from its flabby uncontrolled bass. The bass frequencies are punchier and tighter, a much greater, controlled, nuanced sound.

 

[okohll]

Ok, may give it another go if I find a free day

 

[filcuk]

I have made a custom mount for the tweeters - 2 part 3D print, PETG required for one of the parts.
It's nothing fancy, but it works. Published here.

 

[Tarek]

Very Detailed Work ! and nice information: